SketchBook for Windows 10 Update: Custom Brushes + Tool Gestures

Starting today, if you use the SketchBook for Windows 10 version… welcome to the wonderful world of custom brushes. We released the new Windows 10 version earlier this summer, which uses a brand-new brush engine system. But we still needed to add the ability for Windows 10 users to import and export custom brushes they create or find online. Starting today, you can.

The joy of custom brushes

You can now not only create custom brushes and export them, but you can import whole sets, too. This means you can join the cohort of happy SketchBook Pro users who have been downloading the Free Custom Brush Sets we give out every Monday on this blog. Or, you can make your own and share them with others (or even sell them if they’re that good). If you’re a SketchBook Pro user who uses Windows 10, start exploring and downloading these brush sets. You’re going to love digging through all the free sets. You’ll find all kinds of great ideas and options for creating new art.

You’ll find new options in the marking menu to import, export, and copy brush sets.

Making your own brush icons

One detail that is particularly nice about custom brushes is the ability to add your own custom art to represent the brushes inside the app. Any image can be a brush set icon. You can draw your own icon art in SketchBook or create a vector version in Photoshop or any other design app that you like to use. You can create icons that look like brushes, or you can simply set the texture of a brush as the icon — however you prefer to visually see your brush options. We have a help article here for the desktop version for reference, but the basics are pretty straightforward: use a square image; higher res is better than lower res; and make sure it is PNG, JPG, or TIFF.

If you don’t want to create brush set icons, you can set the texture of a brush.

Undo with your digits

We’ve also added some very handy 3-finger gestures. As someone who draws digitally, you know doubt are well aware that one of the most used options is Undo. The ability for quick “do-overs” is part of what makes digital art so appealing. People who use a stylus (e.g., a Wacom stylus) will often assign the Undo button on their stylus so it will be easy to access. Some desktop users choose keyboard shortcuts for this process. But tablet users (in particular) need something direct — even if they’re not using a stylus. So we added a quick gesture. Simply swipe left with 3 fingers for Undo and swipe right with 3 fingers for Redo.

If you like all of these improvements, we wouldn’t mind having you leave a review in the Windows Store. Or, you can always reach us with feedback on Facebook or Twitter.